Manufacture of cigarettes



Aug. 15, A F. R T AL v 2,169,662

MANUFACTURE OF CIGARETTES Filed Aug. 24, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug.15,1939. F. F. RUAU ET AL MANUFACTURE OF CIGARETTES Filed Aug. 24, 19364 Sheet s-Sheet 4 Patented Aug. 15, 1939 TENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE OFCIGARETTE-S land Application August 24, 1936, Serial No. 97,687 In GreatBritain October 4, 1935 12 Claims. (Cl. 131-39) This invention is forimprovements in or relating to the manufacture of cigarettes, and refersto a machine for making cigarettes, provided with filter plugs,mouthpieces or the like.

1 The mouthpieces shall for convenience be referred to herein as stubs,and the term stub shall include mouthpieces in the form of tubes ofpaper or other material which may be empty, or filled entirely or partlywith filtering or flavouring material or tobacco. It will be appreciatedthat where the tubes are not filled they should have sufficient rigidityto enable them to remain open when the cigarettes are being smoked.

The term stub shall also be deemed to include a composite mouthpiececonstituted in part by a length of wrapped cigarette rod, and in part bya length of filter or flavourlng material wrapped in a tubular wrapperor by a tubular piece which is either hollow or partly filled withfilter or flavouring material. The term stu shall also be deemed toinclude a mouthpiece comprising a length of tobacco filler in a wrapper,which tobacco is of a different kind of tobacco from that forming themain body of the cigarette.

Cigarettes provided with stubs will, for convenience, be referred toherein as mouthpiece cigarettes.

' It has recently been proposed to manufacture mouthpiece cigarettes byuniting aligned adjamaterial to or around said adjacent stubs andcigarettes whilst said stubs and cigarettes are moving axially, and inwhich lengths of stub material are fed by stub feeding means to a stubconveyor which feeds the stubs towards a line of axially movingcigarettes or between adjacent spaced cigarettes in said line.

According to the present invention there is provided in a machine formanufacturing mouthpiece cigarettes by uniting aligned adjacent stubsand cigarettes by securing wrapping material to or around said adjacentstubs and cigarettes whilst said stubs and cigarettes are movingaxially, and in which lengths of stub material are fed by stub feedingmeans to a stub conveyor which feeds the stubs towards a line of axiallymoving cigarettes or between adjacent spaced cigarettes in said line,said stub feeding means .50 and stub conveyor being operative to move inpaths, transverse one to the other in the region Where the stubs aretransferred from the stub feeding means to the stub conveyor, controlmeans intermediate the feeding means and conveyor and. movable betweenthefeeding means cent stubs and cigarettes by securing wrapping andconveyor to position the stubs relatively to the conveyor.

The control means may comprise a stub arresting surface or surfacesdisposed above the path of the conveyor and movable into and out of thepath of the stubs being delivered to the conveyor, and the means toengage the stubs and position them on the conveyor may comprise a stubengaging element or elements disposed above the conveyor at the plate orplaces at which the stubs are delivered thereto, said element or ele-'ments being movable towards and away from the conveyor in timedrelationship with the control means. I

The invention will be more particularly described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of stub feeding mechanism constructed inaccordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section and drawn to an enlargedscale, showing a portion of the stub feeding mechanism illustrated inFigure 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow A.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the mechanism illustrating gearing fordriving the various rotating parts,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4,and

' Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 66 of Figure 2.

Like references refer to like parts throughout the various figures ofthe drawings.

- against the cam I03 by a spring, not shown. To

the other arm of the bell crank lever I05 there is connected a link I01which link is also connected to the plate i0I The action of the plateIOI is to vibrate the stubs in the hopper I in order to facilitate thefeeding of the stubs through the space I08 formed between the end of theplate l0! and the surface of the stationary support I00. It is foundthat if such a plate as I0! is not'used there is sometimes a tendencyfor the stubs to become jammed in the hopper, and not freely to passthrough the opening I 08. The stub feeding means comprises a rotatabledrum 3 provided with flutes 2 into which the lengths of stub materialare deposited one at a time. The drum 3 is divided to enable knives 4 tosever the comparatively long stubs, as seen clearly in Fig, 3, intothree stubs of double the length required in the finished cigarettes.The knives 4 are circular rotating knives carried by arms 5,adjustablymounted on a spindle 6. The knives are rotated in any suitablemanner from the main drive of the machine, and the grinders 1 areprovided to sharpen both sides of the knives.

Guides 8 and 9 are provided to retain the stubs in the flutes 2 of theconveyor, that is the drum 3, and the inner surfaces of the guides areso arranged that they are disposed at varying distances from theperiphery of the drum. It will be seen from Fig, 2 that the innersurface of the guide 9 is closer to the periphery of the drum 3 than isthe inner surface of the guide 8. The guide 9 is positioned above themiddle severed stub, as can be seen from Fig. 3, and as the drum 3rotates, the outer stubs fall partly .out of the flutes 2 and areengaged by the guide 8. The end faces of the outer stubs are engaged bythe guide 9, the edges 59 of which are formed as cam faces, and as thedrum 3 continues to move the stubs past the cam faces and the guide 9,the outer stubs are moved away from the central stub so that the threestubs are spaced apart from each other in the direction of theirlongitudinal axes. This permits the stubs to fall quite independently ofone another and facilitates the transfer from the flutes 2 to furtherstub feeding means as described below.

The stubs which have been spaced apart are deposited in the flutes ll]of a rotatable wheel H, and in order to ensure that each stub is placedin the flutes l0, fork members l2 project through slots in the drum 3and engage with and ensure that three aligned stubs are removed from aflute 2 of the drum 3 and deposited in a flute l 0 of the drum II whichin turn delivers the stubs to further stub feeding means which comprisesa rotatable drum it having flutes IS in which the stubs are deposited.

It is found that when the stubs are being spaced apart in the mannerjust described, there is sometimes a portion of material projecting froman end of a stub, the projecting portion being entangled with the end ofthe adjacent stub. When such is the case, the stubs, when being spacedapart in the direction of their longitudinal axes. are sometimes causedto be moved out of alignment with respect to the path through which theyare intended to be carried by the drum 3, and in such cases it isnecessary to realign the stubs with the path through which the drum 3 isarranged to carry them, otherwise when they are placed upon a conveyorwhich moves the stubs into alignment with cigarette lengths, it is foundthat the stubs are not correctly deposited on the conveyor. In order toavoid this difficulty, the stubs in the flutes I5 are moved in thedirection of their longitudinal axes and towards the central point oftheir combined overall length, the central point being considered whenthe stubs are correctly aligned with respect to the path through whichthe drum 3 is arranged to carry the stubs. The means to effect thisoperation comprises a pair of guides l3 and M which are bell-mouthedwhere the stubs first engage with the guides, and the guides l3 and I4gradually converge towards each other until they are in alignment withthe drum 3, and are spaced apart in a manner such that the stubs arecompletely closed together so that they abut end to end and are againconveyed in the same general path as that through which the drum 3previously conveyed the stubs.

After the stubs being conveyed by the drum I6 have been closed, togetherthey are again spaced apart in the direction of their longitudinal axesWhilst being controlled by guides l7, l8 and 19, the guides H and I9being disposed at a distance from the periphery of the drum it which isgreater than. the distance between the periphery of the drum and theguide I8. The guide 18 is provided with edges 58 formed as cam faces asabove described with respect to the guide 9, and the inner end faces ofthe outer stubs which stubs are controlled by the guides E1 and I9respectively are engaged by the cam faces of the guide l8, the outerstubs being thereby moved in the direction of their longitudinal axes sothat the stubs are spaced apart. This second separation. serves tofacilitate the transfer of the stubs from the stub feeding means as inthe previous case, and also more accurately locates the stubs and spacesthem apart axially.

It will be appreciated that if desired the separation of the stubs maybe effected in a plurality of stages by suitably modifying the shape ofthe cam faces 59 and 58.

The stubs are delivered from the stub feeding means It to a stubconveyor which, in the region where the stubs are transferred from thestub feeding means to the stub conveyor, is movable in a path transverseto that of the stub feeding means. As the stubs leave the flutes I5 theyroll over inclined surfaces 2| and 22, the surface 22, which engageswith the central stub, being arranged slightly in advance of thesurfaces 2| over which the outer stubs pass, the arrangement beingclearly shown in Fig. 2 and such as to obtain the free delivery of thestubs from the feed ing means 16 to a conveyor 23.

The conveyor 23 is shown in the drawings as a rotatable disc providedwith pusher pieces 24, each of which engages with a stub to move thestub above a trough 25 in which the stub is deposited and inserted intothe space between successive cigarette lengths which are to be assembledwith the stub in order to form mouthpiece cigarettes.

The conveyor 23 and drum I 6 may be driven in any convenient manner. Forexample, the sprocket shown in Figures 1. and 4 is driven by gearingfrom the main shaft of the machine which drives the spindle on whichsprocket a is mounted. Sprocket a is connected by a chain with asprocket b to which a gear 0 is fixed, the gear 0 intermeshing with agear d mounted on the spindle e. To the near end of the spindle e issecured a gear f, Figure 4; the gear 1 intermeshes with a gear 9 towhich is secured a small er gear h which in turn intermeshes with alarge gear 7' carried on the spindle It on which the drum 3 is mounted.

A smaller gear m is mounted on a shaft n and intermeshes with the largegear :i, and another gear p is also mounted on the spindle n andintermeshes with a gear q mounted on the spindle r of the fluted drumIS. A gear s is mounted on the spindle t of the fluted drum II andintermeshes with the gear q.

The conveyor 23 is also driven from the shaft which carries the sprocketa, and is driven by intermeshing gears u and v, the gear 12 beingmounted on the same shaft as the sprocket a. The gearing above describedis so arranged that three pusher pieces 24 pass the delivery point Whilethe drums 3, II, and I6 each move a distance of one flute.

An annular space 26 is provided between the conveyor 23 and an outerwall 21, the stubs being moved through this space by the pusher pieces24. The outer Wall 21 is carried on a stationary supporting plate 28.The supporting plate 28 forms a bottom to the space 26 between theconveyor 23 and the Wall 21, except at a place directly above the trough25, a space beingprovided in the plate 28 at this point to enable thestubs to be deposited in the trough 25. The speed of the conveyor 23 issuch that whilst one flute I is passing over the space 26, three pusherpieces 24 will move past the place at which the three stubs aretransferred from a flute I5 to the conveyor 23.

Intermediate the feeding means l6 and the conveyor 23 there is providedcontrol means which is operative to position the stubs relatively to theconveyor 23. In the example of the invention shown in the drawings thecontrol means comprises three stub arresting surfaces 20, one for eachof the stubs delivered from a flute l5 of the feeding means I6, andthree stub engaging elements 32 each of which co-operate with anarresting surface as described below.

The stubs as they fall towards the conveyor 23 from a flute l5 arearrested by the arresting surfaces 2l3, and in order to allow each ofthe stubs to be fed in turn on to the supporting plate 28,

" 1 each of the arresting surfaces is withdrawn in turn. The arrestingsurfaces 2!] are moved into and out of the path of the stubs by means oflevers 29 which are operated by cams 30, a spring 3| being provided tomaintain the parts in their working position.

Above the stubs supported by the stub arresting surfaces 20, there areprovided three stub engaging elements 32, each of which is arranged toengage with one of the stubs delivered by one of the flutes 15. The stubengaging elements are pivoted at 33, and are operated in timedrelationship with the stub arresting surfaces 20. The stub engagingelements 32 are provided with tailpieces 34, which protrudethrough'slots in the arresting surfaces 20, and the tail-pieces areengaged by stops 35 secured to the arresting surfaces. As the lobes 5|of the cams 30 cause the arresting surfaces 20 to be Withdrawn out ofthe path of the stubs so as to allow them to be deposited upon thesupporting plate 28, each of the 7 stops 35 engages with thecorresponding tailplate 28, and that it does not rebound after fallingon to the plate, thereby tending to assume an undesired position.

When three stubs are positioned above the space 265, they are allowed tofall at predetermined intervals so that they are engaged in Successionby one of the pusher pieces 24, and in the example shown in thedrawings, the central stub is the first to be deposited upon the plate28,

whereafter the two outer ones are deposited one after the other.

The mechanism shown in the drawings for feeding the stubs to theelements 32 is described and claimed per se in U. S. patent applicationSerial No. 97,707 of even date, which issued on March 14, 1939, asPatent No. 2,150,596.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. In a stub feeding mechanism, the combination with a conveyor toreceive stubs, at predetermined intervals, of means to feed batches ofstubs, each batch containing a predetermined number of stubssubstantially in axial alignment toward said conveyor, a member for eachstub of a batch, said member being movable into and out of the path ofthe stubs being fed to the conveyor to arrest the stubs, and an elementfor each stub of a batch, said element being movable be-= tween saidmeans and conveyor and in timed relationship with said members permitone stub at a time to be delivered to the conveyor and to po- V terminedintervals, of means to feed batches of stubs transversely to theirlongitudinal axes, each batch containing a predetermined number of stubssubstantially in axial alignment toward said conveyor, means operativein a plurality of stages to space the stubs apart from each other in thedirection of the longitudinal axes of the stubs, means operative betweensuccessive stages to move the stubs in the direction of theirlongitudinal axes and toward the central point of their combinedover-all length, a member for each stub of a batch, said member beingmovable into and out of the path of the stubs being fed to the conveyorto arrest the stubs, and an element for each stub of a batch, saidelement being movable between said means and conveyor and in timedrelationship with said members to permit one stub at a time to bedelivered to the conveyor and to position the stubs relatively to theconveyor.

3. In a stub feeding mechanism, the combination with a conveyor toreceive stubs, at predetermined intervals, of means to feed a pluralityof stubs transversely to their longitudinal axes and substantially inaxial alignment toward said conveyor, means operative in a plurality ofstages to space the stubs apart from each other in the direction of thelongitudinal. axes of the stubs, means operative between successivestages tomove the stubs in the direction of their longitudinal axes andtoward the central point of their combined over-all length, and controlmeans operable between said means and conveyor and movable between saidmeans and conveyor to permit one stub at a time to be delivered to theconveyor and to position the stubs relatively to the conveyor.

l. In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs are deposited,at predetermined intervals, a conveyor to engage a stub on the supportand move the stub relatively to the support, means to feed batches ofstubs, each batch containing a predetermined number of stubssubstantially in axial alignment toward said support, means operative ina plurality of stages to space the stubs apart fromv each other in thedirection of the longitudinal axes of the stubs, means operative betweensuccessive stages to move the stubs in the direction of theirlongitudinal axes and toward the central point of their combinedover-all length, and an element for each stub of a batch, said elementsbeing movable between said means and support and movable in timedrelationship one with the other to permit one stub at a time to bedelivered to the support and to position the stub on the support and inthe path of the conveyor.

5. In a stub feeding mechanism, the combination with a conveyor toreceive stubs, at predetermined intervals, of a rotatable drum havingperipheral flutes substantially parallel with the axis of rotation ofthe drum to feed a plurality of stubs transversely to their longitudinalaxes and substantially in axial alignment toward said conveyor, a guidefor each of the stubs contained in a flute of said drum and conformingsubstantially to the path through which the drum moves ths stubs, saidguides being disposed at varying distances from the periphery of thedrum whereby the end faces of the stubs controlled by the guidesdisposed at the greatest distance from the periphery of the drum areengaged by the edges of the remaining guide, the edges of said remainingguide being so shaped as to space the stubs so engaged, apart in thedirection of their longitudinal axes, and control means operable betweensaid drum and conveyor and movable between said drum and conveyor topermit one stub at a time to be delivered to the conveyor and toposition the stubs relatively to the conveyor.

6. In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs are depositedat predetermined intervals, a conveyor to engage a stub on the supportand'to move the stub relatively to the support, means to feed batches ofstubs, each batch comprising a predetermined number of stubssubstantially in axial alignment towards said support, a member for eachstub of a batch, said member being movable into and out of the path ofthe stubs being fed to the support to arrest the stubs, and an elementfor each stub of a batch, said element being movable between said meansand support and in timed relationship with said members to permit onestub at a time to be delivered to the support and to position a stub onthe support and in the path of the conveyor.

4- In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs are depositedat predetermined intervals, a conveyor to engage a stub on the sup-,

port and to move the stub relatively to the sup port, means to feedbatches of stubs transversely to their longitudinal axes, each batchcontaining a predetermined number of stubs substantially in axialalignment toward said support, means operative in a plurality of stagesto space the stubs apart from each other in the direction of thelongitud nal axes of the stubs, means operative between successivestages to move the stubs in the direction of their longitudinal axes andtoward the central point of their combined overall length, a member foreach stub of a batch, said member being movable into and out of the pathof the stubs being fed to the support to arrest the stubs, and anelement for each stub of a batch, said element being movable betweensaid means and support and in timed relationship with said members topermit one stub at a time to be delivered to the support and to positionthe stub on the support and in the path of the conveyor.

8. In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs are deposited,at predetermined intervals, a conveyor to engage a stub while the latteris wholly supported by the support and move the stub relatively to thesupport, means to feed batches of stubs, each batch containing apredetermined number of stubs substantially in axial alignment towardsaid support, and an element for each stub of a batch, said elementsbeing movable between said means and support and movable in timedrelationship one with the other to permit one stub at a time to bedelivered to the support and by positive engagement with a stub on thesupport to position the stub thereon and in the path of the conveyor.

- 9. In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs aredeposited, at predetermined intervals, a conveyor to engage a stub onthe support and move the stub relatively to the support, means to feed aplurality of stubs transversely to their longitudinal axes andsubstantially in axial alignment toward said support, and control meansoperable between said means and support and movable between said meansand support to permit one stub at a time to be delivered to the supportand by positive engagement with a stub on the support to position thestub thereon and in the path of the conveyor.

10. In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs are deposited,at predetermined intervals, a conveyor to engage a stub on the supportand move the stub relatively to the support, means to feed batches oistubs transversely to their longitudinal axes, each batch containing apredetermined number of stubs substantially in axial alignment towardsaid support, and an element for each stub of a batch, said elementsbeing movable between said means and Support and movable in timedrelationship one with the other to permit one stub at a time to bedelivered to the support and by positive engagement with a stub on thesupport to position the stub thereon and in the path of the conveyor.

11. In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs are deposited,at predetermined in tervals, a conveyor to engage a stub on the sup portand move the stub relatively to the support, a rotatable drum havingperipheral flutes substantially parallel with the axis of rotation ofthe drum to feed a plurality of stubs transversely to their longitudinalaxes and substantially in axial alignment toward said support, andcontrol means operable between said drum and support and movable betweensaid drum and support to permit one stub at a time to be delivered tothe support and by positive engagement with a stub on the support toposition the stub thereon and in the path of the conveyor.

2. In a stub feeding mechanism, a support on which stubs are deposited,at predetermined intervals, a conveyor to engage a stub while the latteris wholly supported by the support and move the stub relatively to thesupport, means to feed a plurality of stubs substantially in axialalignment toward said support, means to space the stubs apart from eachother in the direction of the longitudinal axes of the stubs, andcontrol means operable between said means and support and movablebetween said means and support to permit one stub at a time to bedelivered to the support and to position the stub on the support and inthe path of the conveyor.

FE'LIX FREDERIC RUAU. ARTHUR BINGHAM.

